


i took my love (i took it down)

by weatheredlaw



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Reality, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Background Relationships, Children, F/M, Not Beta Read
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-25
Updated: 2016-10-26
Packaged: 2018-08-24 14:20:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8375497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weatheredlaw/pseuds/weatheredlaw
Summary: Vex'ahlia wakes up in a different reality, one she was not quite expecting, and finds herself troubled and intrigued by what lies in store.





	1. "typical percy"

**Author's Note:**

> or the one where i rip off _the family man_ and replace nick cage with vex. and add more magic. and maybe dragons. title is from "landslide" obviously, but i've been specifically listening to [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_uKmKtC4Mk) cover.

The last thing Percy says to her, to them _all_ actually, just before bed is –

“This place will never…never be like our first home together. But it’s what we have, and I would be humbled and honored if you would like to call it home. For now,” he adds quickly. “I understand you’d rather not think of it as a permanent situation, but—”

“Hey.” Scanlan raises his hands. “You’ve got a hundred rooms.”

“Eighty-seven,” Percy corrects.

“I claim ten of those. For personal reasons.”

“Whatever your heart desires, Scanlan.” Percy frowns. “Within reason, of course.”

“Oh sure, sure.”

Vex gives his beret a little flick as she walks past, following Percy up a flight of stairs. “It’s a wonderful gesture, darling. Really. We couldn’t be more grateful.”

“I’m not entirely sure what the state of the rooms is, but Cassie said they were livable.” He pushes a door open down one hall and nods. “This wing of the castle belongs to all of you. You can pick—”

Grog muscles past all of them and claims a room. “Mine! This one’s mine. It’s the biggest, so it’s mine.”

“Aw, come on!” Scanlan whines. “You didn’t even let me look.”

Pike goes jogging down, armor echoing down the hall as she shouts for Grog to let her see, and Keyleth bounds after them all, Vax in tow.

Vex sighs. “Typical.”

“Very.” Percy adjusts his glasses and glances over at her. “This is alright?”

“It’s more than alright. You don’t have to worry about it.”

He shakes his head. “I want everything to be as perfect as we can manage it. The world is falling to pieces, Vex. We should have some semblance of _sanity_ here, for as long as we can.”

“It’s _fine_ , Percival. Honestly.” She kisses his cheek. “Thank you.”

He smiles. “You must really like it, then. Handing out kisses.”

“Only the best for you, my lord.” She bows her head and Percy groans.

“Please. Never do that again.”

 

* * *

 

She tosses and turns that night, probably the consequence of a new bed and all the new anxiety she’s managed to collect. Sleep won’t come, so she hauls herself out, puts on something light and steps into the hall. It’s quiet, which means her brother is probably nearby, but she’s not looking for him right now. She heads down the hall, hoping the identical stone walls and corners don’t confuse her in the dark – tracking is tracking, but she needs _rest_ , she needs quiet and peace and she still can’t manage to find that.

The Briarwoods and their history permeate the halls. Vex’ahlia can _feel_ how wretched they were in the stonework, can perfectly recall the coldness they prompted inside her. She applauds Cassandra for scrubbing the place clean of their essence, for the most part. But a spinning circle of magic causes a chill to run down her spine, and Vex wraps her arms around herself tighter, shivering in the cool air of the hall –

“Vex?”

Percy’s voice echoes quietly, hits her gently. She turns and sees him at the end of the hall, buttons of his vest undone, sleeves rolled up. He looks like he’s been in his workshop, carrying a candle and some notes in his hands. She turns around to join him.

“Couldn’t sleep?”

“Can’t stop…hearing them,” she manages. “The sound, it’s—”

“Let’s have a drink.”

“It’s late, Percival.”

He shrugs. “Couldn’t hurt.” He leads her down the halls and toward his room, setting his things down on a little desk just inside before closing the door again behind him. “There’s some whiskey in the library. One of them,” he adds. Vex laughs. “My mother loved books, and my father loved my mother. He converted at least six rooms in the place to libraries, apart from the two that were already here. My grandfather was distraught.” He pushes open a heavy wooden door. “This used to be his smoking room.”

Vex inhales. “Smells like it, still.”

“Well when a man smokes every night for sixty-one years in one room, the smells tends to linger.” He takes the top off a decanter and pours into two glasses. “Here you are.” She takes it, and Percy raises his own. “To sleep. Eventually.”

“Eventually.” The glass makes a bright noise in the dark of the room. Percy lights a few candles and settles into an armchair. “I’m going to have to get to know this place all over again.”

“Is it so different?”

“The paintings are gone or in storage. The smells are different. There’s an entire wing that was destroyed by whoever the Briarwoods let live there. Some of my siblings had rooms there. Whitney and Oliver, if I remember.” He shakes his glass. “I don’t know if we’ll ever get the place clean of them.”

“You will,” Vex says, surprised by her own confidence.

“I should hope so.”

“We’ll help you. After the dragons.”

“If there is an after.”

She scowls. “Don’t talk like that. We’re not going to die that way. Warring with dragons. Men who call that honor are just cowards. Too afraid to want to die at home and at peace.”

“Is that how you want to die, then?” Percy leans back and looks at her. He seems relaxed on his own land. Still the tense-shouldered creature she’s known all these years, but he slips a bit, just ever so slightly. More so now that the place is really his. “At home?”

“This may shock you, Percival, but I would someday like a family of my own.”

“Little trackers, hmm? Trailing after bear cubs?”

“Naturally.”

He laughs. “That seems…nice.”

Vex sits in the chair across from him. “It’s a good thought. It warms me.” She takes a sip. “What about you, then? Come on, let’s hear it. How would you like to die?”

Percy freezes a little in his chair, and Vex wonders if she’s touched a nerve. She opens her mouth to tell him to never mind her, never mind the question, it’s –

“Honestly, I thought I was going to be dead already. I didn’t…expect to survive the Briarwoods.”

“…Percy.”

“And Ripley is still out there. I have no idea when we will meet again, or if I’ll survive that.”

“But if you do.”

He nods. “If I do…I should think your way of doing things isn’t so bad. A family couldn’t hurt. I enjoyed having siblings, and my mother and father were good people. Their love is the thing that’s truly missing from this place.” He smiles. “If you can believe it, we were all very happy here, once. It’d be nice to have a family in these halls again.”

 

* * *

 

Eventually Vex begins to fall asleep in her chair, and Percy taps her on the shoulder. “Let’s get you to bed.”

“I’m going to get lost.”

“Nonsense, we’ll get you there.” He hooks his arm in hers, and they walk silently through the wings. It’s not as many turns as she remembers, but eventually they find their way back outside her door. “Thank you for having that drink with me.”

“Thank you for sharing.”

“I’d say any time, but I’ll be keeping my inhibitions up around you for a few days, just to save face.”

“Typical Percy,” she teases. He laughs again. She’s not heard the sound before as often as she has tonight.

“Rest well,” he says, and squeezes her hand.

He goes before she can get in the last word, but Vex figures that probably doesn’t matter. Not when he seems…happy.

She finally slips out of her leggings and crawls into bed, playing Percy’s words in her mind over and over. She can imagine him quite clearly being dragged through these halls by pesky sisters. It’s not hard – she was, and is, one herself. She’s seen the portrait of his parents, and they looked happy and in love. Perhaps, she thinks, Percy _will_ have a family here. Perhaps their families will be friends.

And then the thought, falling unbidden into her head – _Perhaps we will have one together._

It warms her belly, just a bit, but for reasons she doesn’t understand. She finds Percival charming, of course. But there’s no deep seated desire there to _marry_ the man. She’s only just learned so many things about him, how long would it take to know him well enough to _settle down_ with him?

And it’s Percy, of course. And it’s _her._ There’s no settling to be had. Not yet. Not for a while. And Percy will eventually rule over Whitestone. That’s a completely different life than the one she’s imagined for herself. Of course, as a younger woman the life she imagined was always Vex and Vax, taking what they wanted, returning what needed to be returned to those who’d been wronged –

But her brother is in love with Keyleth, he’d made that clear. And Keyleth is…an unknown. A variable Vex’ahlia had not expected.

She huffs, digging into her blankets. It couldn’t be so bad, she thought. Filling these halls with family and friends. But still, that was a life for someone else. Certainly not for her.

And though sleep finally claims her, it is not as restful as she would have liked, and she is plagued by dreams of _what if’s_ and _could be’s_ for the rest of the night.


	2. "have you tried greater restoration?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> greater restoration: one spell fits all

She wakes as the sun is rising, shifting under warm sheets. Sheets softer than she remembers. Vex hums, makes a mental note to thank Cassandra when she sees her next, and opens her eyes.

This…is not her room.

This is most _certainly_ not her room, not with its _size_ and the window over her bed twice as large as she recalls. Not with the bed bigger than the one she fell asleep in, and not with –

“Ten more minutes for me,” someone murmurs, and shifts next to her.

Vex’ahlia stills.

Percy lies on his stomach, white hair mussed and going in every  direction, one arm hanging off the bed, the other reaching for her. Vex regains her senses long enough to move away, but he doesn’t seem to notice. The hands still and he huffs, turning his head toward her. Eyes still closed, he says, “You’re welcome to stay, though. The world will keep on turning even if you—” He yawns. “Even if you stay in bed a _bit_ longer.”

“Percival, what _happened_ last night?”

He smiles. “Only good things, dear.”

Vex _bolts._

 

* * *

 

She manages to dress herself in the room that isn’t hers, grabbing a pair of slim leather boots and wrapping a green jacket around herself. Everything _fits_ , even though it isn’t hers. As though tailor made, as though _given_ to her, with the explicit purpose that she wear it. She storms through the hall, trying to find the wing where she had been staying, trying to crawl into the bed she’d been in before her brother sees her.

They’d had a single drink, had stayed up just a bit too late – and that’s all that had happened. That’s _all_ she can remember. There was no reason she’d go to bed with Percy, and no reason he’d ask. She does finally find the wing, but it’s different than she remembers, different than it was the night before. More torches, better décor. The place feels _clean_ in a way it hadn’t. As if Percy’d managed to do overnight what he’d wanted – to purge the place of the dark magic that had plagued the halls for so long.

Vex runs a hand through her hair, dragging through her lingering braid. “Vax? Keyleth! Scanlan, Pike, _Grog_ – anybody!” She pushes open every door, but no one is there. These rooms are clean and unused. They haven’t been for a while, her senses tell her. They’re glorified guest rooms, no longer the designated sleeping quarters of Vox Machina.

She has to find someone. Gilmore. Gilmore will know what’s happened to her. He’s ill, injured still, but he could help her, couldn’t he? He could tell her where she’s escaped to.

Vex spends the next twenty minutes floundering in the halls, confused and disoriented. She stops and grasps the wall for support, closing her eyes. _Calm down, stupid. This is a place you know, this is a place you **know**. This is Whitestone, and you’re fine. It’s just confusing, it’s just a mix-up. You’ll sort this out, you always sort it out. You—_

“Lady de Rolo!”

Vex looks up, and finds a freckle-faced girl shouting at her.

“Are you _speaking_ to me?”

“I-I’m sorry,” she stammers. “I called your name, but you didn’t answer, and I—”

“You called me Lady de Rolo.”

“I…yes. Yes, is that alright? That’s…what I always call you.”

Vex closes her eyes. “What do you need?”

“This was delivered to you this morning.” She raises a long, slender wooden box. “Would you like it now or shall I send it to you study?”

Vex pinches the bridge of her nose and nods. “My study, yes. Take it…take it there.” _Gods, what is happening?_

The girl nods and scampers off. Vex decides to find the library, the last one she remembers. It takes her past the room she woke up in, but there’s no sound coming from within. Either Percy is still asleep, or he’s figured out that she’s running around the halls like a mad woman, and gone looking for her. She figures he’ll look in the library, eventually, and decides to take refuge in one of its overstuff arm chairs. The whiskey on the table looks tempting, but it has new companions now. Another decanter of something dark red, new glasses and a nicer stand.

She frowns. “Has time…passed?”

The door suddenly opens, and an older woman enters, carrying a screaming child in her arms. “Oh thank Sarenrae,” she says, and rushes over to Vex. “The girl is screaming for her mother, has been all morning. Tried to tell her that even mama deserves a late morning now and then, but she’s a creature of habit, you know how it is.” She hands the girl out. Vex only stares. “Lady de Rolo—”

“That’s…that’s not my name.” The woman frowns, opens her mouth to clarify, but Vex says quickly, “That’s not my child. This…this isn’t right, none of this is right.”

“My lady—”

“Where is Percival?”

“I…his lordship is here, today, of course. Should I fetch him?”

“Yes. Yes, you—”

The door opens again, and Percy stands in the door way, buttoning his vest and adjusting his sleeves. He looks between Vex and the woman, then to the screaming child, and smiles. “Are we having a battle of the wits this morning?”

Vex goes to him, grips his elbow. “Percy. Something’s not right.”

His expression clouds and he takes her hands in his. “What happened? Is she ill? Are you ill?” The child screams again. “Gods, Desi, will you give the girl over to her mother, _please?_ ”

Desi’s mouth works like a fish, and Vex says quickly, “I am not that child’s mother, Percival. I have no idea what’s happening, but we _need_ to sort this out before it gets further out of control.”

He stares at her, and she can _see_ those gears working, eyes flicking back and forth. Finally, he nods, and turns to Desi. “Take Meredith upstairs, please. Keep her and the twins in their room, have breakfast brought to them.”

Vex balks. “ _Twins?_ ”

Desi nods. “Yes, sir. Right away.” She spares one more look at them both and grips the screaming toddler in her arms. It takes a while for the sound of it to fade.

Eventually, Percy crosses the room and steps into the hall, calling for a guard. “Go into town, please, and fetch Shaun and Scanlan. Pike, too, if she’s returned.” He closes the door and places a hand at the holster Vex hadn’t noticed before, resting it on the hilt of a pistol. “Now. Tell me what’s wrong.”

She nods, swallowing thickly. “Last night…last night you and I had a drink, and a conversation. Then you walked me back to my room, and I went to sleep in a bed your sister gave me. This morning, I woke up in a different bed. With you.”

He nods. “All of that seems right, with the exception of you going to a different room.” He shifts on his feet, other hand raking through his hair. “We have a drink in _this_ library every night, Vex. You know that.” Percy moves closer, reaching out to stroke her cheek. She pulls back. “Gods, darling, what’s gotten into you?”

“I…I don’t know. I don’t know what’s happened, I just—”

Percy comes very close to her, looking into her eyes, his own narrowed. “I suppose if you were some creature sent to kill me you’d have done it already. You had ample opportunity to do so this morning. More still last night, if you are truly not who I think you are.”

Vex shudders. “Who…who do you think I am?”

“Vex’ahlia…”

Behind them the door opens, and the guard leads Gilmore and Scanlan into the room, swiftly trailed by Pike. Percy sighs. “Shut the door.”

Scanlan raises a brow, glancing around the room. “Haven’t seen _this_ particular library before. How many are you hiding in this place, de Rolo?”

“Enough. Gilmore, there’s a situation. We may need all of you, if it’s serious.” He glances over at Vex and sighs. “Vex’ahlia is…confused.”

Gilmore raises a brow. “About?”

Percy comes to stand by her. “Tell him…what you told me. All of it. We’ll…sort this out.” He settles into a chair and scrubs a hand over his face, pushing his glasses up.

Gilmore has her sit and listens carefully as she tells him the story. He doesn’t interrupt her, and Scanlan and Pike stand close by, nodding sympathetically. At one point Percy gets up and pours himself a drink, downing it in one go. Finally, Gilmore takes her hands in his.

“I have some theories.”

“Alright.”

“But first—”

“We could try Greater Restoration,” Scanlan interrupts. “Maybe she’s just lost her memories.”

Gilmore sighs. “That is _one_ of my theories, but I’ve told you a hundred times, Shorthalt. That spell is not a fix-all for every—”

“I’ll try!” Pike says cheerfully, and comes around to put a hand on Vex’s shoulder. It’s a comfort, though a faraway one. Vex’ahlia is beginning to understand there are things she…well, _doesn’t_ understand. “You close your eyes, and let’s see if we can sort this out.” Vex nods, feeling the warmth of Pike’s magic wash over her. She hopes that it will dissolve all this away, melt the illusion of being dropped into a life that is certainly not hers – but when she opens her eyes, they are all staring, and Gilmore shakes his head.

“Nothing, am I correct?”

“Nothing,” Vex agrees.

“Then we’ll explore the other theory. You have traces of something akin to plane travel all over you, a bit like what lingers after you go into the Feywild. But that’s not what’s happened, I don’t think.” He tips her chin up, looking into her eyes. “You are certainly _our_ Vex’ahlia. But…you are one that we have already known. Not the one we are knowing now.”

“Did she time travel?” Percy asks.

“Something like it. I think that, for Vex, this is a different reality. Either occurring at the same time, or in her future. What is your world like, right now?”

“It’s…” Her stomach _twists._ “Oh, I have to get back. If this isn’t my world, if this isn’t _my_ time, I have to get back. The Conclave attacked Emon, and we came here, to Whitestone. We—”

“So a future, then. You are from our past, or a version of it. And this is a potential future.”

“…Potential.”

“Certainly. A set of choices created this reality. You have limitless decisions available to you. Any future could have been generated for you, but _this_ is the one you fell into.”

Percy stiffens, puts a hand on Gilmore’s shoulder. “If _this_ Vex is one from a time we’ve already lived…then _where_ in the hell is my _wife?_ ”

Gilmore shakes his head. “I can’t tell you that right now. It’s very likely she’s in a different reality of her own. An entire reality _shift_ for all the Vex’s of the universe, we could call it.”

“This is unacceptable. We need to find her and correct this. If her world is still besieged, she must be returned to it immediately, and I—” As if on cue, the door bursts open again, and Desi appears, holding the same, red-faced, wailing toddler in her arms.

“Sir, this girl is a wreck. Her morning schedule has been completely disrupted, she’s refusing to eat, she’s _exhausted_ —”

Percy reaches out and takes her, holding the girl close. “Please go look after the twins, Desi. I’ll take care of this one.”

Desi shoots Vex a quick look. “Not to offend, sir, but the girl wants her mother.”

“Thank you for the advice, Desi. Please tell the twins their mother isn’t feeling well, and she’ll see them later when she’s feeling better. Also remind them not to cause any trouble until the representatives from Ank’Harel have left. I don’t need another carriage disaster.”

“It’s not _me_ they get their destructive streak from,” the woman says, turning sharply on her heel and closing the door behind her. In Percy’s arms, the little creature finally calms, hiccupping and reaching over his shoulder toward Vex, a weak, _mama, mama_ falling off her lips.

“Percy…” Pike steps forward and puts a hand on his elbow. “I know this Vex doesn’t _know_ Meredith, but Meredith knows _her._ ”

Percy looks toward Vex and nods. “Will you hold her, please?”

“I…yes. Yes, alright.” She takes the child, feels Percy’s hands linger for just a moment before he draws back.

“Scanlan, will you please escort Vex’ahlia to her study? You can stay there for now, until we catch you up on things. We…we must be careful. I don’t know what you’ll retain when we return you to your own world, but I hate the idea of you being left in the dark. I’ll have breakfast sent to you.”

“…Thank you.”

“Pike, walk with me. Gilmore, thank you for your help.”

“Of course. I’ll start looking into this immediately. Allura isn’t too far, I’ll see what she knows.”

Percy turns back to her, and Vex adjusts Meredith in her arms. “I’ll come find you in a bit. I have a few things I need to take care of this morning, but…I’ll do my best to make sure you get adjusted to this reality as best you can.” He rests a hand on her shoulder, gives it a gentle squeeze, and heads out of the room.

Scanlan looks up at her. “That guy really loves you, you know that?”

Vex pats Meredith’s back. “I’m…starting to get the idea.”


	3. "very vague and generally unhelpful"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i swear this was supposed to be small. but then again i always say that.

“This…is my _study?_ ” The door snaps shut behind her, and Vex clings to the toddler in her arms a bit tighter. She seems to like it, burying her face into Vex’s blouse and bucking her head under her chin. The room is enormous, lined with books and covered with arrows and little skulls and pieces of parchment with sketches across them. She goes to her desk and lifts one – _to mama, love desmond._

“I think it all used to be three rooms, but you and Percy gutted it a while back. Came in here with hammers and bashed the walls in. Pike thought you were trying to bring the place down.”

Vex laughs and goes to sit in the chair. Meredith squirms and says, firmly, “ _Down._ ”

“Are you sure, darling? You were very upset earlier.”

“ _Down._ ”

“Well, alright.” Vex sets her on the carpet, and she takes some wobbly steps over to a corner filled with toys and a few little games. “She plays in here.”

“She can’t stand to be away from you,” Scanlan says, looking warm in a way Vex hasn’t seen in a while.

She bites. “How’s Kaylie?”

“Hmm?” He turns to her, smiles. “Oh, she’s good. Argumentative and defiant, wandering around the world, still. But happy.”

“And why aren’t _you_ wandering around the world with her?”

Scanlan snorts. “And cramp her style? No, I’m good here.” He settles into one of the other chairs, pulling it close to the desk and propping his feet up on the wood.

“You’re not allowed to do that, are you?”

“Not even a little, but you’re not her. You’re you. So.”

“Feet down, gnome.” She reaches forward and knocks his shoes off the desk. “So why are _you_ in Whitestone still?”

Scanlan grins, and Vex _knows_ that look. Cat got the canary, I know something _you_ don’t know – “I’m not sure if I can tell you that.”

“Oh, come on now.”

“Look, we don’t know what you’re going to remember when you get back. You having certain information could change a _lot_ of things. Everything, honestly.”

Vex huffs. “Fine. Can you be _vague_ about it at least?”

“Sure. You and Percy got married and I got a very sweet deal out of it. Now I live in a big fancy house and I’m the Whitestone minister of Public Relations.”

Vex narrows her eyes. “That’s a lie.”

“It’s…actually the _truth_ ,” he admits, rather sheepishly. “As _much_ as I wish I could wander around and make that sort of shit up. Percy gave me a cushy title and some gold.”

“And that’s all your little heart desired?”

“Not at all, but it’s not a useless position, honestly, given how much work and negotiating we’ve been doing to rebuild Tal’Dorei.”

“So Whitestone…survived.”

“To the very end. The rest of the continent…they look up to this place. It took them in when they were homeless, it fed them when they were starving. You haven’t left so you don’t know, but this city is almost twice as large as it was when we first got here. Lot of the refugees, they stayed here. Gilmore’s got two stores, Pike’s got her temple.” He shrugs. “We did a good thing here. War’s over, Vex. Now we’re just…trying to grow everything back.”

 

* * *

 

Scanlan tells her a few things – her brother and Keyleth are in Emon, serving as interim council members until the city is completely back on its feet. (She and Vax hate to be parted, and scry and talk as often as possible, Scanlan says, gagging a little.) Grog is in Westruun with Kima, the two of them rebuilding the armed forces of the city. Pike has the run of three temples – one in Whitestone, the other two in Vasselheim and Emon. As for herself and Percy, Scanlan says they’ve been brokering trade deals for years now, building up Whitestone and modeling a city reborn.

“You guys are like the _it couple_ of the continent,” Scanlan teases. “Everyone’s like, _oh what should our city look like?_ And then someone goes, _it should look like Whitestone._ And then someone else is probably like, _but can we be as attractive as the de Rolos?_ And someone else goes _no, that’s impossible Charles, why would you even suggest that—_ ”

“Are you _torturing_ her with impressions?” Percy opens the door and leans against it. Meredith notices him immediately, stumbling over her large wooden blocks and falling prone at his feet.

“ _Papa._ ”

“Mary, love, we need to work on your posture.” He bends down and lifts her up, tossing her into the air. The girl giggles, and Percy returns the gesture in kind, kissing her on the nose. “Are you keeping our guest company, darling?”

“Oh, Percy.” Scanlan stands, feigning a spell. “I told you only to call me that when we’re alone together.”

Percy looks at his daughter. “Funny gnome, isn’t he, love?” He glances up at Vex and smiles. “How are you feeling?”

“Better.”

“Good. You’re free to do as you please, Scanlan, though I did send a great deal of paperwork to your office just a few moments ago. You might even beat the courier.”

“Is it Thomas?” Percy nods. “I’ll definitely beat him. Maybe I’ll follow him.” He gives Vex a wave and blows the baby a kiss. “Don’t give away all the family secrets in one go, Percy.”

As the door clicks shut behind him, Percy settles into Scanlan’s chair and rests Meredith on his knee. “He didn’t tell you too much himself, did he?”

“No, he was very vague and generally unhelpful.”

“When it counts,” Percy murmurs with a chuckle. He leans back, inhaling deeply and letting it spill out. It blows Meredith’s hair up and around her face, and she explodes with laughter. He blows on it again and they both laugh. Vex catches herself smiling wide – Percy notices. “What?”

“Sorry, I’ve just…I never would have imagined you this way.”

“Children do terrible and strange things to you.” He kisses his daughter’s temple. “I thought we’d talk a bit, then maybe go see the twins. They’ve been asking for you all morning.”

Vex feels her stomach turn. “Are they alright?”

“They’re five, so they’re sturdy.” Meredith squirms and he releases her to play. “You can ask whatever you’d like, but I’m concerned about you leaving here with too much information. We don’t know how it could affect your world.”

“Scanlan said the same thing.”

Percy nods. “Either way, I’ll do my best to answer.”

“Right.” Vex looks at her hands in her lap. “How did…how did you and I—”

“Hard work,” Percy says. “The details are too important, but you and I…we have to work our way through a lot of _shit._ ”

“ _Shit_ ,” Meredith says.

“No, darling, don’t repeat that. Your mother will kill me.”

“Mama.”

“Yes, mama.” Percy scrubs a hand over his face. “Sorry, I can’t…I can’t really go into it.”

“That’s alright. What about my brother and Keyleth? Are they happy?”

He nods. “Happy and together. Keyleth’s put her aramente on hold for a bit. She’s too in love with Emon. And your brother.”

“Do they have children?”

“No. We beat them to that, at least.” He laughs. “Not on purpose, but here we are.”

Vex nods. “Did we… _want_ children?”

“We did. But we were going to wait.”

“So the twins were accidents.”

Percy raises a brow. “I hate the word, but for all intents and purposes, yes. We were married and fully planned on dedicating ourselves to Tal’Dorei for some time. And then the twins came along. Didn’t stop us, really. And you’d be surprise about the way a child can turn a trade deal around. We brought them everywhere when they were infants.”

“We _used_ them?”

“Well not like _that._ But the council of Westruun was very impressed with their behavior when we were haggling the price of granite down.” Vex laughs, trying to imagine herself and Percy carrying a child each, negotiating deals. “You’re picturing it, and it’s _wonderful_ , isn’t it?”

“It really is.”

“Anything else?”

Vex leans back, considering the ceiling. It’s beautiful, she realizes. Gorgeous tiles with suns and moons scattered across. She closes her eyes. “My father. Does he know the children?”

“…He was just here, actually. Two weeks ago.”

Vex sits up straight. “He was.”

“Your relationship is…strained, but Velora is an aunt, now, and she wouldn’t let it go. He was at the wedding. Bit of a wet rag, really, but he didn’t make a fuss. He’s…trying.”

“I don’t make it easy.”

“No, you certainly don’t. But he’s an ass, so it’s fine either way.”

 

* * *

 

Eventually, he convinces her to meet the twins. She’s more nervous for this than anything, for some reason, but she’s their mother, for the time being. She remembers being parted from her own, how painful it was.

Percy’s hand touches her own.

“You’re trembling.”

“I’m…”

“It’s alright to be scared.”

Vex nods. “Right.” Percy’s hand reaches out to push one of the doors open. Vex’ahlia grips Meredith tighter and follows him inside.

“Myra? Desmond!” The room is strangely quiet. Vex feels her nerves alight with anxiety, and she sets Meredith down to inspect. Percy grabs her arm and mouths, _stay here._ “Well,” he says, “I suppose they’re just not here today. Perhaps they’ll see their mother tomorrow. I think she and I will go downstairs and eat all the chocolate that their uncle sent them last week. Or feed it to Trinket, perhaps—”

“ _Papa, no!_ ” Two children _burst_ out of a closet, Desi in tow, and scrabble to his feet.

The girl grabs at his waistcoat, pleading with tears in her eyes, “Papa you _can’t_ eat all the chocolate. Mama, tell him Trinket can’t _have_ chocolate, you say so all the time.”

“That’s…very true, Percival.”

“See?” The boy tries to climb into Vex’s arms. “Mama, Myra tricked me into hiding in the closet again. Tell her she’s grounded. She’s an absolute _terror._ ”

“That’s not a nice thing to call your sister,” Percy warns, hefting Myra into his arms. He looks at her. “Are you a terror, my love?”

“Just a bit, papa.”

“Well, if the shoe fits.” He kisses her cheek and sets her down. “Are you behaving yourselves otherwise?”

“Absolutely not,” Desi says, rather fondly. “But that’s alright. They know the doctor will be here soon for lessons.”

Desmond makes a face. “I hate lessons. I don’t need them, mama. Tell papa we’re smarter than Dr. Foss.”

“Well I—”

“Dr. Foss is being paid a considerable sum to give you lessons,” Percy says. “You will respect him, at the very least.”

“He’s a dolt,” Myra says.

“A bit of a crab, too,” Desmond snarks.

Desi sighs. “He _is_ a bit dull, m’lord.”

“Tutors are never interesting. None of mine were.”

“Maybe that’s the problem,” Vex says. The twins burst into laughter and Percy scowls.

“I never should have brought you here.”

 

* * *

 

She plays a while with the twins before their tutor arrives. At one point, Desmond looks at her after she answers a question and says quietly, “You’re talking strange, mama.”

Vex flushes. “Oh, I’m so sorry, darling. Please forgive me.”

Desmond beams. “ _That’s_ better mama.” He plants a wet kiss on her cheek and kicks over his sister’s castle.

Dr. Foss _is_ rather dull, Vex’ahlia agrees. And he certainly doesn’t seem to look forward to any of the twins’ antics. Percy leaves all three of them in his and Desi’s care, closing the doors behind him.

“I’ll admit I don’t care for the man, but I have no one to replace him.”

“He reminds me of the tutors my father had for me and Vax.”

“You’ve told me,” Percy says, smiling.

“The twins said Trinket was here…”

He laughs. “Yes, _yes._ Your bear has free run of the gardens.”

“Do you love him that much, then?”

“Certainly.” He clears his throat. “But I’m also a clever man. I know how to keep my wife happy.” He gives her his arm and Vex takes it. “He’ll be very happy to see you.”

 

* * *

 

They spend the rest of the day together, which only serves to compound her guilt. Each time a courier or someone from the city comes looking for him, Percy signs something and sends them away, telling them it can wait ‘til morning.

“I’m keeping you from your work.”

“You’re not. I’ll do my work when I please. Right now, you take priority.” There’s some space between them now, his hands reaching deep into his pockets. He sighs, glancing over at her. “You know I remember that drink you were talking about. The one we had just after we left Emon.”

“You do.”

“Yes.” He smiles. “It’s… _one_ of the reasons you and I drink in that library every night. A lot of things happened there.”

“Good things.”

“ _Very_ good things.”

Vex feels her cheeks flush. “Percival.”

“Sorry,” he says, laughing. “I’m very sorry, I just…you’re exactly the woman I fell in love with, you know that?”

“…Is that when it happened?”

“Just about.”

She sighs, looking up at the evening sky. “Should you have told me that?”

“Mmm, probably not. But I’m…content with it.”

“Perhaps I’ll have Scanlan wipe my memories.”

“He’s gotten better,” Percy agrees. He looks up with her. “We should go inside. The children should be hungry by now.” He doesn’t offer to take her arm again, but Vex understands.

There is a chasm, she senses, between the way she feels about him, and the way he feels about her. Years of catching up, years of looks and glances and touches and kisses that she has no knowledge of.

She imagines it must be hard, _terribly_ hard, to have the woman you love in front of you and not be able to kiss her senseless.

 

* * *

 

“I’ll let you have this room tonight.”

“Percy, that won’t be necessary.”

He raises a hand. “Your comfort and your space are important to me. I have a room in my workshop, I’ll sleep there.”

“Is that where I send you when I’m angry?”

“Essentially, yes.” He gathers a few things and hangs them over his arm. Vex feels the want inside him, the need to kiss her, or hold her close. It’s palpable, rich in the room. Percy moves closer to the door. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Or perhaps not.”

“Yes, perhaps this is an elaborate dream we’re both having at the same time,” he muses, and gives her a smile. “Rest well, Vex’ahlia.”

She nods. “And you, Percival.”

The door shuts behind him, and Vex falls backwards onto the bed, exhaling.

 _Shit_ , she thinks. _Shit, shit shit._

How to process. How to deal and relegate and _consider_.

 _Married_ to Percy. Her Scanlan would shit if he knew. Vax would probably avoid her for a few hours. Keyleth would be giddy and rambly and bubbly and all the things Vex really does _love_ about her.

A little ache rises up. It was good to see Trinket, to bury her face in his fur and inhale. The same smell, same feeling. Older, her bear. But _hers_ , still.

She misses Vax. She misses Grog and everyone. She misses _her_ Percy, still broken around the edges and not quite happy. She wishes he could see this part of himself, the one that tosses his children into the air and takes his wife on garden walks. The one who is happy, who walks through Whitestone a complete man.

She wonders which choices will have to be made so _that_ Percy can thrive and live. She wonders if she can give that to him alone.

Or how much of it they must do together.

Vex is desperate, hungry for more answers, but she understands their fear. What if she remembers it all, goes home and is too confident when they finally battle Thordak and the others?

What if she fucks it all up?

“Typical Vex,” she murmurs, and changes into the night clothes Percy had shown her.

 _Well_ , she thinks. _At least the bed is comfy._  

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr @ weatheredlaw
> 
> as always my work remains unbeta'd by anyone but myself, and i am not currently looking for one. all errors are my own and caught and corrected in time by yours truly.


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